Sleeping Curse
The Sleeping Curse and the Sleeping Spell are a curse and spell featured on ABC's Once Upon a Time. It first appears in the first episode of the first season. The Sleeping Curse is based on the Wicked Fairy's Curse from the fairytale "Sleeping Beauty", and on Maleficent's Curse from the Disney film, Sleeping Beauty. History Sometime following this, Maleficent retires into a castle and lives contently with a pet unicorn. Sometime prior to this, Regina trades the Dark Curse given to her by Rumplestiltskin for the sleeping curse to get rid of her nemesis, Snow White. Casting the sleeping curse on an apple, she offers it to Snow White, who eats it to save Prince Charming. Under the curse's influence, her body gives no signs of life, leading her friends to assume she is dead. After her "death", Prince Charming gives Snow White a final kiss as a goodbye, accidentally using true love's kiss to break the curse. As a side effect of waking up from the curse, Snow White experiences recurring nightmares, in which she is trapped in the Netherworld's fiery room. Over time, the nightmares gradually fade. When all else fails, Regina steals the Dark Curse from Maleficent with plans of using it to destroy Snow White. Fearing Regina will cast the Dark Curse and doom her life along with everyone else's, Maleficent and her allies, Cruella De Vil and Ursula, head for the castle to consult with Snow White and Prince Charming. On arrival, Maleficent casts a sleeping spell on the guards and everyone within the castle gates. When the royals finally return home, they rush in to find the villains awaiting them. After a failed attempt to gain answers from the Tree of Wisdom about how to stop the curse, Maleficent realizes Snow White is pregnant, and the child is neither good or evil, but has the potential to be either. Late at night, Maleficent reappears in the castle bedroom, putting Prince Charming under her sleeping spell, while she reveals her own pregnancy to Snow White. As they are both mothers who want to protect their children, she tries convincing the royal princess to help her stop Regina. Instead, Snow White refuses to side with a villain, as doing so might darken her own child. }} }} When Henry's nightmares do not stop, David and Regina learn from Mr. Gold that the dreams are due to being awoken from the sleeping curse. As he explains, a person's soul travels to the Netherworld under the curse, and if the curse is broken, the victim will awaken, but will suffer through a period of continuously travelling to the Netherworld while asleep. Given a magic amulet to protect himself from the Netherworld's flames, Henry journeys to the dreamworld once again and fends off the fire separating him and Aurora. From talking with the boy, Aurora discovers his name is Henry, and she informs Emma and Mary Margaret about the development. With this line of communication, Mr. Gold tells Henry to let Aurora know of a way Emma and Mary Margaret can defeat Cora, but Aurora is forced awake before she hears him. Due to repeatedly returning to the Netherworld, Henry suffers burn marks, so David volunteers to go under the sleeping curse by pricking his finger on a spindle. Simultaneously, Mary Margaret uses poppy dust to induce and mimic the effects of the sleeping curse. Meeting in the fiery room, they trade information, and as Mary Margaret tries to give him true love's kiss, she discovers they cannot physically touch in this realm. Upon her return to Storybrooke, she rushes to David's side and revives him with true love's kiss. }} }} Desiring to change their fates as villains, Cruella, Maleficent and Mr. Gold seek out the storybook's Author, who they believe in trapped behind a door. As a double agent, Regina pretends to be on their side and procures a snapshot of the door illustration. While the villains believe the door is somewhere in Storybrooke, a light glare in the photo helps Mr. Gold realize the Author is actually trapped in the illustration. Not wanting to tip off the heroes, Maleficent casts a sleeping spell on the entire town, so she and her allies can secretly grab the illustration. Those previously affected by a sleeping curse, such as David, Henry and Mary Margaret, remain immune to the spell. Fearing the villains are after the illustration, Henry takes it with him to the Sorcerer's mansion. Upon entering the diner, David and Mary Margaret find many people passed out and quickly realize Maleficent is responsible. }} }} Curse Types *According to Mr. Gold, the traditional version of casting the sleeping curse is by dipping the tip of a needle in a special blue liquid potion, and putting the needle on a spinning wheel. Once the victim's finger is pricked with the needle, the potion reaches the bloodstream quickly for the curse to take effect. *The Evil Queen combined the effects of an apple with the sleeping curse. *According to the Evil Queen, the sleeping curse does not work if inflicted by force. In fact, Snow White, Henry, David and Belle all cursed themselves voluntarily. **However, Aurora, Brennan and Dorothy appear to have been cursed against their will. *A single drop of the sleeping curse, mixed with sea water and toadstool, puts the person in a state of catatonia. *There is a sleeping spell similar to the curse,https://twitter.com/JaneEspenson/status/582363602067148800 but its effects wear off with time as the one Maleficent cast on Prince Charming and Snow White's entire castle and the ones Regina cast on the Lost Boys, Marco and Pinocchio. Maleficent also cast this spell on the entire town of Storybrooke. Zelena has also cast this spell on Belle, Dr. Whale, Robin Hood, the Merry Men and Nurse Ratched, while Hook cast it on Merida. Curse Effects *The sleeping curse will only work if it is willingly self-inflicted by the victim. Coercing a person by force will have no effect. **However, Maleficent's sleeping curse seems to be slightly different than Regina's, as Aurora was cursed against her will. *The victim remains eternally asleep, but the soul is sent to the Netherworld where the person experiences dreams made of his or her own regrets. *While under the influence of the curse, the victim's body mimics the appearance of death with no involuntary movement or breathing. *Post-curse victims are repeatedly subject to common, horrible nightmares, which feature a red doorless, windowless room, with fiery curtains and engulfing flames. The dreams fade over a prolonged period of time. **According to Mr. Gold, even after a person is awoken from the state of eternal sleep, the soul may still instinctively travel to the Netherworld while unconscious because of the victim's habitual residence there when the curse was still in effect. *If a sleeping curse has been cast on someone, that person is immune to the effects of any sleeping curses or spells. This left Mary Margaret Blanchard, David Nolan, and Henry Mills unaffected after Maleficent put the residents of Storybrooke to sleep. Curse Breaking *True love's kiss - The sleeping curse's effects can be lifted with the power of a kiss of true love. Whereas the existence of unconditional true love can be romantic, such in the case of Snow White and Prince Charming, it can also be parental; exemplified by Emma using true love's kiss to free Henry from the sleeping curse. Appearances Note: "Archive" denotes archive footage. References de:Schlaffluch it:Maledizione del Sonno Category:Potions